Who here actually *dosn't* like the bus?

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From some of the thread's i've been reading, an overwhelming number of aspies seem to prefer taking public transit over driving. Anyway, my question here, is who does not? As much as I love it and see the benefits of it, the joke of a system here in atlanta that we call public transit makes me downright nervous. THe routes constantly change, its dirty, and it never seems to go where you need to go. Sorry, but I can't stand riding it. Whats everyone else's opinon on public transit in their cities vs a car?

i prefer my car, i'm sad to say (being a rabid environmentalist), due to not feeling safe on buses, etc., their high cost, their unreliability, the extra time it takes, the lack of connexions, etc., etc.

I prefer my bike.

I HATE THE BUS!! !! !! !! I REALLY REALLY HATE THE BUS!! !! I have ridden the bus exactly twice since 1984. "The year I got my liscence" I'll go without food to make sure I have some PRIVATE transpartation.

I can't stand running on other peoples scedules, or being dependent on others, and I'm a night person as well. That and I can't stand the idea of being locked in a box full of "often violent, occasionally infested" strangers. If I need to go downtown it would take me hours of planning ahead on the bus. With my car it takes me 15 minutes. I like to go out for coffee around 10 pm. Bus?? Hah.

Right now I have four vehicles, a pickup truck, my 74 Beetle, my Moped for getting aroud the neighborhood, and lastly my new home myWinnebago.

Bus?? I'd walk first!

Public transport is a ripoff.

Actually it does depend on where you live. I lived in Indianapolis for a couple of years, and there I drove. The public transportation system is almost non-existant there. Chicago, on the other hand, has a very good public transportation system. I think that public transportation is one of those deals where if it's available (and I mean really available) then take it. Otherwise don't bother.

In Britain it is a ripoff. It is too slow and too irregular.

Living in London, driving would be a stupid way for me to try to get around - the roads are very congested and it takes ages to get anywhere.

Buses are quicker because during peak times they have exclusive use of the bus lane. The other public transport options are underground (the tube) and overground trains. I prefer the bus because a) bus stops have area street maps, b) bus stops now have 'spider maps' (diagramatic representation of where the buses stop), c) estimated journey time lengths on the timetables, d) you can see where you're going e) many routes run 24 hours a day. The only thing that annoys me is that bus timetables are pretty much a work of fiction. Fortunately most routes are frequent enough that you don't have to wait too long.

The spider map for the tube is great but there's only one of them for the whole network - each bus stop has a different spider map showing where each bus comes from and goes to from that stop along with estimated journey times. Endless diagramatic map possibilities!

As you may have noticed, I am rather fond of maps and timetables. How stereotypical of me

London is perhaps the only place I'd consider public transit. "Or possibly a scooter, A Vespa GS scooter, lotsa mirrors " It is NOT a city built for cars. Most American cities ARE built for cars though.

I've only been to London once, and I have to admit, the traffic is obscene..........

oh, i definitely agree with feather - i'm originally from london, and i used to love LT. night buses are particular fun. i rarely drove in london.

I both drive, and take the bus.
The bus is for when I go into the city (about an hour and a half away), I'd rather not deal with traffic into the city, it gets so busy cos people don't know how to merge and get silly about it.
I just don't like it when people sit next to me (the whole them touching me and them smelling bad deal). A seat by myself is the best!

Only the infrequent routes have timetables now, most just have a service frequency now which gives an average waiting time between buses. It makes sense as because of traffic it is impossible for busses to run to a fixed timetable.

I like the Spider Maps too although it is weird when you have two neighboring ones, such as the top and bottom end of the same street, but they show the same destinations in different places.

I do not drive so I rely on public transport. Locally it is definitely better in London than the rest of the UK although I always got by before moving here. Probably because I lived in city centres and did not go out much anyway!

The idea of being able to drive and having the freedom to go anywhere at any time does appeal to me, but like any situation having to deal with other people, having to go for lessons has always frightened me. Right now though I could not afford it anyway. Plus I have enough trouble gaging when it is safe to cross a street, I am worried that I would never know when to pull out in a car!

Michael.

I hate public transportation.

I still say cycling is better. Takes less space, more environmentally friendly and good exercise.

...and less people.

The public transportation in the city where I live is a big joke without a funny punchline. First off, if you want to go anywhere more than five miles away, prepare to spend time before hand planning out every detail, the times, stops, transfer points where you sometimes wait 45 minutes for the other bus, a 15min trip that takes an hour, etc. I liken it to organizing a esbionage mission in a foreign nation.

If you like weekend activities or hanging out after 6:00pm, forget it. Even if you can find a route that gets you to your destination, the buses stop running around 8pm on Saturdays and 5pm on Sundays.....if that route runs at all. What's worse, most jobs are outside the inner city and the few buses that go out that far either run three times a day, stop running after 5:00pm and don't run on weekends. Even within the inner city, if you happen to get a job requiring you to report before 7:30am or a shift that ends after 9:00pm, you're screwed since the former guarantees not having a bus that runs early enough to get there on time, the latter not having a way home late at night.

I've had to turn down really lucrative job offers because of that crap. One job, I've already had to quit due to lack of transportation home. Civic leaders here wonder why this city is so backward and they're not considering public transportation as an obvious factor in discouraging tourism and job growth. Worse, they don't seem aware of those too poor to afford a car yet can't get to work to earn money for one since routes and times aren't accommodating to business hours.

Tourists come here expecting to catch a cab if they're not being picked up from a hotel, airport or wealthy neighborhood. They find out quickly even phoning the company repeatedly might get you a cab in say, three hours, if they bother to show at all. (Had this happen to me many times) I'm hoping beyond hope I can find employment with enough wages for some kind of private vehicle. Otherwise, I'm doomed to spend years with my life in perpetual limbo without means to accomplish my goals.